November 24, 2013 - November 30, 2013

Saturday, November 30, 2013

As the image above shows, material from Comet ISON appeared on the other side of the sun on the evening on Nov. 28, 2013:

The question remains whether it is merely debris from the comet, or if some portion of the comet's nucleus survived, but late-night analysis from scientists with NASA's Comet ISON Observing Campaign suggest that there is at least a small nucleus intact.

We will have to wait a few more days to see whether we will have anything we can see without enhancements.

Thursday, November 28, 2013

This Thanksgiving I am feeling especially thankful for the family and friends with whom God has seen fit to bless me. I am thankful one of those dear friends shared the this video with me. I hope it touches your heart as it did mine:

I am allso very thankful that our forefathers were wise enough to establish a nation under God and provide for freedom of religion, not freedom from religion.

As I've written before, the traditional Thanksgiving story is that some time in the fall of 1621, the settlers at Plymouth, Mass., held a feast to thank God they'd survived theiry harrowing first year in the New World.

They invited neighboring Indians, who had taught them agricultural skills critical to their survival. Together they celebrated their good fortune with a three-day feast.

There is a problem with the traditional story - no one invited the Indians.

The settlers threw the party for themselves. Members of the local Wampanoag tribe arrived only after hearing the English firing their arms in celebration. This view may be historically accurate.

A firsthand account of the original Thanksgiving is provided in "Mourt's Relations," a series of letters written in 1620 and 1621, primarily by settler Edward Winslow.

He writes of a harvest celebration, "at which time amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor."

Actually, the harvest of 1621 wasn't great at all. The barley, wheat, and peas the Pilgrims brought with them from EnglanFreedom From Wantd had failed. Fortunately, the corn did well enough that they were able to double their weekly food rations.

The Pilgrims were happy to be alive: The previous winter had wiped out 47 people--almost half their community.

On January 6, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed Congress. His "Four Freedoms" offered a vision in which the American ideals of individual liberties were extended throughout the world:

Four Freedoms We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression--everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way-- everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want . . . everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear . . . anywhere in the world.

Monday, November 25, 2013

A new CNN/ORC poll finds that 53% of Americans now believe that President Obama is "not honest and trustworthy."

This is the first time that CNN polling has found that a clear majority feels that Obama is not honest and trustworthy. The CNN poll confirms what we reported last week.

Now that it is obvious that Obama lied when he promised over and over again that "if you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan," Americans' view of Obama's honesty has also taken a hit:

The new CNN poll also found that only 40% believe Obama can effectively manage the federal government. That is a down 12%. The ObamaCare train-wreck is so bad it has led some to start referring to the president as "Obama the Incompetent."

The brutal poll numbers go beyond Obama's record low approval numbers, his honesty and his managerial skills. According to CNN's Political Ticker, 56% now say Obama is not a person they admire, that he does not agree with them on important issues, and that he does not inspire confidence.

You can watch CNN's John Avalon discuss these brutal poll numbers on Political Gut Check in the following video:

CNN Polling Director Keating Holland says that the mishandled ObamaCare roll out has had a big impact on his perception as an effective manager and that may be what is driving the drop in Obama's approval rating.

Holland points to President Bill Clinton to make the point that perceived competency is more important than honesty. Clinton's whose overall approval ratings remained high during and after the Monica Lewinsky scandal because Americans thought he could get things done, even though only about 20% thought Clinton was honest.